The
Ninth Regiment of Iowa Cavalry was organized under special order of the War
Department, dated September 7, 1863. The twelve companies of
which it was composed were
ordered into quarters by the Governor of the State between the
dates, August 15 and November
1,
1863. Davenport, Iowa, was designated in the order as the rendezvous of the
regiment and, at
that place, on November 30, 1863, the Enlisted men and officers
of the twelve companies,
together with the field and staff officers, were-mustered into
the service of the United States by
Lieutenant Colonel William N. Grier, of the Regular Army. The
aggregate number of the
regiment, at the date of muster in, was 1,185. Early additional
enlistments brought the number up
to
the maximum strength of a cavalry regiment. A large number of men who desired to
join the
regiment had reported at the rendezvous after its ranks had been
filled, and, as they could not be
mustered into the Ninth Cavalry. were assigned to other Iowa
military organizations, then being
raised, or to regiments already in the field. Lieutenant Colonel
M. M. Trumbull, formerly of the
Third Iowa Infantry, was chosen as the Colonel of the Ninth
Cavalry, and no better choice could
have been made. He had entered the service at the commencement
of the war, as Captain of
Company I, of the Third Infantry, and had won well-deserved
promotion to the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel in that regiment. He was wounded at the
battle of Shiloh, and subsequently
commanded his old regiment, and won distinguished honor at the
battle of Matamora. 2 He
resigned to accept the appointment of Assistant Adjutant General
of Iowa, and was serving in
that capacity when he was appointed Colonel of the Ninth Cavalry
by Governor Kirkwood.
Lieutenant Colonel John P. Knight was transferred from the Third
Iowa Infantry, where he had
served with honor as First Lieutenant and Captain, and Major
Edgar T. Ensign had also served
with equal honor as Captain in the Second Iowa Infantry. Indeed,
the roster of the Ninth Iowa
Cavalry reveals the fact that nearly all its field and staff, as
well as its company officers, had seen
service in other Iowa regiments, which was also true as to a
large number of the Enlisted men.
Nearly every county in the State was represented in the
regiment. In the region of country to
which its operations were confined, the regiment did not have
the opportunity—which its gallant
commander and his officers and men so ardently desired—to make a
great battle record.
However, as will be seen in this brief historical sketch of its
operations, the Ninth Iowa Cavalry
performed important and valuable service in the field to which
it was assigned. Major and Brevet
Colonel Edgar T. Ensign has furnished the Adjutant General of
Iowa with a carefully detailed
historical memoranda of the movements and operations of his
regiment, embracing the entire
period of its services To that officer the compiler is indebted
for the main portion of the material
which enables him to prepare the following condensed history. It
will be his endeavor, while
omitting some of the less important details, to include all the
most essential points in the history
of
the regiment.
The
first camp of the regiment was located near the city of Davenport, Iowa, and was
called
"Camp Roberts," but was subsequently changed to "Camp Kinsman,"
where comfortable
barracks had been constructed There, while awaiting its supply
of horses, arms and other
equipments, the men received preliminary instruction in their
duties. Officers' schools were
established, and the necessity for the enforcement of strict
discipline was inculcated. On
December 8, 1863, Colonel Trumbull received orders to move his
regiment to St. Louis. At that

2

time about 750 horses had been furnished. These, together with
the camp equipage and other
military stores, required several trains of cars for
transportation, and it took three days to effect
the
transfer of the regiment from Davenport to St. Louis, where it arrived December
11th. The
first camp was located on the ground occupied by the rebel
troops at the commencement of the
war—old "Camp Jackson." There the regiment remained in tents,
suffering much from the
severity of the weather, until December 16th, when it was moved
into quarters at Benton
Barracks. In this great camp of instruction the men and officers
of the regiment were subjected to
a
rigid and thorough training. The officers were required to pass an examination
before a military
board, and all, save one, passed the ordeal with credit. With
reference to the one exception,
Major Ensign says: "Owing to illness, and absence of other
officers of his company, which threw
on
him all, or nearly all, their duties and responsibilities, he was unable to
spare the time
requisite to master all the technicalities of cavalry tactics
and army regulations." Nevertheless, he
was
a good officer, and his brother officers sympathized deeply with him, and felt
that great
injustice had been done in rejecting him. In the early days of
the war, officers of volunteer
regiments were not required to pass such rigid examination. They
were hurried to the field, with
but
scant opportunity for instruction, and learned their duties in the hard school
of actual warfare.
There is no doubt however, that the Ninth Iowa Cavalry was
better prepared for effective service
in
the field, after its long period of training at Benton Barracks, than were any
of the Iowa
regiments which had preceded it, at this time they took the
field. With much less careful
instruction it might have performed all the duties subsequently
required of it equally well, but, if
it
had been sent with the other Iowa cavalry regiments, where great battles were
fought, the
wisdom of the longer period of preparation would have had
practical demonstration.
The
horses of the regiment were selected by a board of its own officers. They were
fine
animals. Each squadron was supplied with horses of a uniform
color, and the regiment, when
mounted and on parade, was greatly admired for its handsome
appearance. At an inspection and
review held by General Davidson, Chief of Cavalry, at Benton
Barracks, he declared the Ninth
Iowa the best mounted regiment he had seen during his nineteen
years of service as a cavalry
officer in the Regular Army. During a portion of the time of its
stay at Benton Barracks, details
were made from the regiment for guards in the city of St. Louis,
and detachments were sent to
adjacent parts of Missouri and Illinois. Captain Flick's Company
(B) was for several weeks
stationed at Alton, Ill., as guards to a large number of rebel
prisoners confined at that place.
Captain Reed's Company (A) was employed in breaking up and
dispersing secret rebel
organizations in Southern Illinois and in capturing deserters
from the Union Army. On April 14,
1864, the First Battalion, under command of Major Ensign, moved
by rail to Rolla, Mo., and
went into camp there. A few days later, three companies of the
Second Battalion, commanded by
Major Drummond, joined the First. Battalion at Rolla. On the
15th, two more companies arrived
there, but were turned back without leaving the cars. It had
been intended to Concentrate the
regiment at Rolla, from which place it was to march to Little
Rock, Ark., but, the country
between those points having been found almost destitute of
forage, it was not possible to move
the
regiment over it. The detachments were therefore ordered to return to St. Louis.
On April
19th the regiment moved to Jefferson Barracks, twelve miles
south of St. Louis, where it went
into camp in tents, just outside the Barracks.
Early on the morning of tray 3d there came an order from
Department Headquarters for the
immediate detail of one hundred and fifty men and a field
officer to report at Once. The duty was
assigned to Major Ensign, who, with detachments from three
companies, comprising the required
number of men, rode rapidly into the city and reported to
General Rosecrans. The Major was
instructed to proceed with his command to Hannibal, Mo., by
boat, and thence to march to
Palmyra, to intercept the movement of the notorious guerrilla,
Quantrill, and his band. That fiend

3

in
human form was moving towards Quincy, Ill., after perpetrating his horrid crime
of murdering
defenseless citizens at Lawrence, Kans. Major Ensign at once
embarked his detachment on the
steamer "Die Vernon" and proceeded to Hannibal, where he
disembarked and marched rapidly to
Palmyra, as directed. The guerrilla leader had been apprised of
his approach, however, and made
a
rapid retreat. Following his usual method when pursued, he ordered his followers
to separate,
each man to take care of himself, with orders to reassemble at
some designated rendezvous, at a
remote distance. Major Ensign's command scouted the country for
ten days, and succeeded in
capturing a few of the guerrillas; but their leader and most of
his band made good their escape.
Having been relieved of the duty of hunting guerrillas, by a
detachment of the Seventh Kansas
Cavalry, on the 15th of May the Major returned with his
detachment to the camp of the regiment
at
Jefferson Barracks. Upon his arrival, he found the regiment under orders to
proceed to Devall's
Bluff, Ark.
Major Drummond, with Companies B and E. embarked on the first
boat, other detachments
following until Clay 19th, when Colonel Trumbull embarked with
the last detachment, and, on
May
23d, the entire regiment was in (amp at Devall's Bluff. Soon after the arrival
of the first
detachment, Major Drummond had a skirmish with a small force of
the enemy, who rapidly
retreated, carrying with them a number of Government animals
which were being herded near
the
post. The Major succeeded in recovering some of the animals, but the rebels were
well
mounted, and, having a thorough knowledge of the country,
succeeded in eluding their pursuers
and
escaped to the northward through the swamps. Devall's Bluff was an important
Cost, being
the
depot from which all the supplies for the army commanded by General Steele
were
forwarded. The failure of General Banks' Red River Expedition
had compelled General Steele to
fall back to Little Rock, which was the headquarters of his
army. The rebel forces under General
Price constantly threatened the line of road over which the
supplies for General Steele's army
were conveyed, and which had to be heavily guarded. On May 24,
1864, Colonel Trumbull was
assigned to the command of the post at Devall's Bluff. He
immediately proceeded to put the post
in
the best possible state of defense against the threatened attack of the enemy.
Heavy
fortifications were constructed, guarding the approaches by
land, while the timber between the
river and the line of works was cut down, and all obstructions
removed from the river view, in
order that the gunboats might take an important part in the
anticipated battle. The garrison, under
command of Colonel Trumbull, consisted of his own regiment (the
Ninth Iowa Cavalry), the
Third Michigan Cavalry. the Third United States Cavalry (of the
Regular Army), a part of the
Eighth Missouri Cavalry, the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth
Illinois Infantry, one battery (the
Second Missouri Artillery) and about one hundred negro troops.
One of the fleet of gunboats was
stationed in the river, off shore. As detachments of cavalry
were constantly required for
extensive scouting and guard duty, the defensive force was none
too large, in view of the number
of
the rebel forces under General Price which were expected to engage in the
attack. Major
Drummond, with four companies of the Ninth Iowa Cavalry. was
sent to the vicinity of West
Point, on White River, to keep constant watch of the movements
of the enemy and give timely
warning of his advance Major Ensign was placed in charge of the
pickets and outposts. All the
troops composing the garrison were worked incessantly. The
constant arrival of transports,
conveying supplies, unloading the stores and reloading them upon
the cars for shipment to Little
Rock, employed hundreds of men, while hundreds more were
employed in strengthening the
defenses, scouting in the surrounding country, on picket duty,
guarding the line of
communication with General Steele, and the performance of the
regular camp duties, demanding
the
most constant activity and untiring energy upon the part of both officers and
men.
On
the 29th of May, Major Haddock returned with a detachment of four companies of
the
Ninth Cavalry from a scout down towards the mouth of the
Arkansas River, and reported the

4

assembling of a force of rebels, under the command of General
Marmaduke, on the south side of
the
river. Major Drummond's detachment returned the next day, reporting a skirmish
with a
portion of the rebel force commanded by General Shelby.
Everything seemed to indicate a
concentration of rebel troops for the purpose of attempting the
capture of Devall's Bluff. A few
days later, however, the enemy began aggressive movements
against the less strongly defended
outposts, rendering it necessary to send reinforcements from
Devall's Bluff to the points most
liable to be attacked. On June 4th, Major Ensign was sent with
Companies A. C. D and E. of the
Ninth, to the neighborhood of Searcy, on the Little Red River,
with instructions to make a
thorough scout in the vicinity of the road leading to the
crossing of that stream and beyond it. He
found that a considerable body of rebel troops, with some
artillery. under General Shelby, were
located near Batesville. Captains Young and Dean, with their
Companies (C and E), were sent
still farther into the country, to the north and west, and
returned without encountering the enemy,
but
with valuable information. Major Ensign lost two of his men— captured by the
enemy—
while on this scout. On June 13th the detachment moved to Bayou
Two Prairies, on the railroad
between Devall's Bluff and Little Rock, and there found the
balance of the Ninth Iowa, and the
Eighth Missouri Cavalry, with Colonel WAX. F. Geiger, of the
latter regiment, in command. A
small stockade was the only defensive works there. Major
Drummond, with his battalion
(Companies B. E. H and L), was again sent northward, and, on the
29th of June, sent a dispatch
from Austin, stating that he had located the rebel General
Shelby on that side of the Little Red
River. Colonel Trumbull, with what men of his regiment could be
mounted, moved promptly to
join Major Drummond, with the intention of attacking the rebel
force, but found it to be only a
portion of General Shelby's command, which scattered and fled
upon the approach of Colonel
Trumble's command. After thoroughly scouting the country, and
discovering no further traces of
the
elusive enemy, Colonel Trumbull returned with his regiment to Bayou Two
Prairies.
Major Ensign, commanding the advanced guard of the regiment,
arrived at the bayou before
the
main part of the regiment reached it, and, by order of Colonel Geiger, joined
the Eighth
Missouri Cavalry, with one hundred men of the Ninth, and moved
to Clarendon, thence to
Devall's Bluff, there to participate in another expedition
against the wily rebel leader, General
Shelby. While engaging the attention of Colonel Trumbull, on the
Little Red River, with a
portion of his command, Shelby had crossed the White River with
his main force, and, by a
sudden march southward to Clarendon, succeeded in surprising and
destroying a United States
gunboat lying at that place. General E. A. Carr, then commanding
the district of Little Rock,
rapidly assembled a force of infantry, cavalry and artillery,
and gave chase. In his retreat towards
Augusta, General Shelby was hand pressed by his pursuers, and
fought them at every available
point. Heavy skirmishing was performed by the cavalry, the
rebels always retreating before the
infantry could be brought forward. Major Ensign's detachment of
the Ninth Iowa kept with the
advance, and, by a hazardous night reconnaissance, located the
enemy's position and won the
special thanks of the General commanding. On the first day's
advance from Clarendon, the little
detachment had pushed forward with so much audacity that it came
very near reaching and
capturing the rebel General, who was giving his personal
attention to the movements of his rear
guard. Lieutenants Jacobs, of Company B, and Prole, of Company
G, were especially
commended for their gallant behavior. One of the guns, taken
from the gunboat by the rebels,
was
recovered, and two field pieces were captured from the enemy. The loss of the
detachment
was
two or three killed and a few wounded, but less than that inflicted upon the
enemy. Several
prisoners were taken by the detachment. Captain Young, in
command of Companies C. I and F
of
the Ninth, joined Major Ensign at Clarendon on the return march. The two
detachments then
marched to Devall's Bluff, and found the remainder of the
regiment in its old camp at that place.
There was much sickness among the troops, caused by the
intensely hot weather, impure water

5

and
miasma from the surrounding marshes. Many of the men died from the diseases
thus
engendered. There was also great scarcity of forage. The hot
weather and lack of rain had caused
the
grass to become parched and destitute of nutriment, and for many days the men
had to cut
branches from the trees and gather cane from the swamps to keep
the horses and mules from
starvation.
On
July 11th, Colonel Trumbull, with a portion of his regiment, had a brief
skirmish with a
rebel cavalry force, which made a rapid retreat. Pursuit could
not be successfully made, owing to
the
poor condition of the horses. On July 13th, Major Drummond, with a detachment of
the
regiment, crossed the White River, and made a successful
foraging expedition, during which he
met
and had a slight skirmish with a small force of the enemy, capturing a few of
them with their
arms and horses. He returned to camp with quite a drove of
cattle, mules and horses, which he
had
gathered up in the country through which he passed. About the same time Colonel
Trumbull,
with two hundred and thirty men of his regiment, engaged in a
similar expedition, in another
direction, and with equally satisfactory results. He returned to
Devall's Bluff on July 15th.
Information having been received that a strong force of rebels
was about to occupy Saint
Charles,—a landing on White River, midway between its mouth and
Devall's Bluff,—a brigade
of
troops, under command of General Lee, was hurried from Morganza, La., to Saint
Charles.
General Lee had about two thousand infantry, a few pieces of
artillery and a gunboat, but no
cavalry. To supply that want, a part of the Ninth Iowa Cavalry,
under command of Major Ensign,
was
sent to join General Lee's command. The detachment reached Saint Charles two
days after
the
arrival of General Lee, who had taken a strong position and was awaiting the
attack of the
enemy, of whose location and movements, however, he had gained
no information. Major
Ensign's command was at once utilized in exploring the
surrounding country in search of the
enemy, and, after a rapid march on July 28th, came in sight of a
force of rebels on Bayou Metoe.
The
rebels made a hasty retreat to the south side of the Arkansas River. Major
Ensign then turned
to
the south and east, drove in the rebel pickets near Arkansas Post, and, moving
down the north
branch of the river for several miles, encountered and dispersed
small parties of the enemy,
taking some prisoners. From the prisoners the Major obtained the
information that a large force
of
rebels was in camp upon the opposite side of the river. He at once moved his
small command
from that dangerous neighborhood and, marching rapidly, reached
Saint Charles on July 30th,
having fully accomplished the object of the expedition. The
rebel General, having learned of the
occupation of Saint Charles by a Federal force amply sufficient
to defend it, abandoned his plan
for
attacking that place and rejoined the main rebel army, under General Price.
After being
advised of the retirement of the rebel force, by scouting
parties from Major Ensign's detachment,
General Lee, leaving a sufficient force to defend the post at
Saint Charles, returned with the rest
of
his command to Morganza. About the same time Major Ensign returned with his
detachment
to
Devall's Bluff, taking with him many negroes, as recruits for the colored
regiments, also many
horses and mules which he had captured.
On
the 5th of August, the Ninth Iowa Cavalry, together with the other regiments
composing
its
brigade, moved northward to take part in a cavalry expedition, commanded by
Brigadier
General Joseph R. West, which it joined near Searcy. The entire
force, numbering nearly 3,000
men, crossed the Little Red River at Searcy, and moved to a
point on White River, above
Augusta. The rebel General Shelby's force numbered about 6,000
men, but, as he had detached
about one-half his men on an expedition against Helena, it was
General West's purpose to meet
him
before his command could be reunited. It had been arranged to have transports
sent to
Augusta, to ferry the troops across White River. 'The boats
failed to come, and General West was
obliged to get his cavalry across the river by swimming. So much
time was consumed that,
before one-half the troops had crossed the river, news was
received that the rebel force sent to

6

Helena had rejoined General Shelby, The discrepancy in numbers
was too great to justify
General West in risking a general engagement in the open field.
He therefore decided to fall back
to
the defenses at Devall's Bluff and Little Rock. The retreat was successfully
accomplished.
General Shelby followed in pursuit, and there was some
skirmishing with his advance guard, but
the
troops safely reached their strongly fortified encampments, which the rebel
General had the
good judgment to refrain from attacking. The condition of the
horses at this time was very poor.
They had been greatly overworked in the long scouts which had
been made, had not been
supplied with a sufficiency of forage, and there were not enough
really serviceable horses in the
whole brigade to properly mount one regiment.
On
the 24th of August, the rebel General Shelby, who had pursued a detachment sent
out
from Devall's Bluff on a scouting expedition and followed it
almost to the line of defenses,
succeeded in surprising a party of soldiers belonging to the
post, who were making hay on the
prairie near Ashley Station, and, after a very stubborn
resistance, captured part of them,
dispersed the balance and burned the hay. As soon as the men who
had managed to escape
reached the post, all the men who could be mounted on
serviceable horses, numbering 750, under
the
command of Colonel Geiger of the Eighth Missouri, started in pursuit of the
rebel force,
which was encountered on the open prairie. The rebel force
outnumbered that of Colonel Geiger
in
the proportion of three to one, but the Colonel resolved to make the attack. He
disposed of his
force in such manner as to avoid being surrounded and cut off
from retreat. The Ninth Iowa was
placed in position to guard the line of retreat, in case it
became necessary, and was not engaged
in
the heaviest of the fighting which ensued, but it bravely performed its duty in
the position to
which it was assigned. The Missouri regiments, led by Colonel
Geiger, boldly charged the
enemy, who gave way, under the impression that the attacking
party was merely the advance of a
larger force. The rebels lost heavily in killed and wounded,
their loss being much greater than
that of the Union troops, owing to the impetuosity with which
the attack was made, and to the
superior quality of the arms of the attacking force. The loss in
Colonel Geiger's command, in
killed and wounded, was sixty. No prisoners were taken by either
side. The loss of the Ninth
Iowa, on account of the position to which it was assigned, was
small, as compared with that of
the
regiments which led the advance and charged the rebel line. The rebel force
retreated under
cover of the darkness, which came on soon after the fighting
began. Colonel Geiger, and all the
troops under his command, received high official commendation
for their admirable conduct in
this spirited cavalry engagement.
On
August 27th, Colonel Trumbull marched with most of his regiment upon another
cavalry
expedition. He joined other troops from Little Rock, and the
expedition, under command of
General West, made a long and arduous march through the rough
and broken country lying
between the Little Red and White Rivers. The expedition
encountered no considerable bodies of
the
enemy. Upon its return, the brigade, consisting of the Ninth Iowa and the Eighth
and
Eleventh Missouri, was halted at Austin, where it went into
camp. Sixty men of the Ninth Iowa,
with Captain Young and Lieutenant Holmes, who had been left at
Devall's Bluff, embarked on a
transport take the expedition but, meeting with a largely
superior force of the enemy, for
Clarendon, September 1st. They were instructed to scout the
country between Clarendon and the
Arkansas River, and to then return to Devall's Bluff by land,
which duty was successfully
accomplished. A small detachment of twenty men of the Ninth Iowa
was sent to act as scouts for
a
force of infantry, which it accompanied upon a transport up the White River.
These troops had
orders to co-operate with those under the command of General
West, whom they were to meet at
a
designated point on the river. Not meeting General West's troops, at the point
indicated, the
scouts from the Ninth Iowa were ordered to disembark and make
the effort to communicate with
the
General. The little detachment made a heroic attempt to overtake the expedition
but, meeting

7

with a largely superior force of the enemy, was overpowered,
and, after a desperate resistance,
nearly all the men were either killed or captured. It was in the
performance of such hazardous
scouting duty that most of the casualties of the Ninth Iowa
Cavalry were sustained. It required a
high degree of courage and fortitude, on the part of the men
composing these small scouting
parties, to ride along the lonely forest roads, not knowing at
what moment they would be
attacked by the enemy concealed in ambush. The character of the
service was much the same as
that which was required in the early history of the country, in
fighting Indians, and the fate of
those who fell into the hands of the rebels was about as much to
be dreaded as that which befell
the
prisoners in the hands of savages. While there were exceptional cases, in which
Union
prisoners received humane treatment, it is a well known fact of
history that, as a rule, their
treatment was marked with great inhumanity.
On
the 8th of September, that portion of the brigade which had been stationed at
Devall's
Bluff—including the Ninth Iowa was ordered to move to Austin and
join the main command.
About this time the rebel General Price had concentrated his
army and had commenced his last
great campaign, extending his operations into the states of
Missouri and Kansas, where, in a
series of hand fought battles, his army was defeated with heavy
loss and compelled to retreat into
the
mountains of Arkansas. An expedition, composed of one division of cavalry and
one of
infantry, marched from Memphis to join in the pursuit of Price's
army. On September 18th, the
expedition passed through Austin on its march to the Missouri
border. For the purpose of
bringing back his supply train, General Mower—the officer in
command—requested a detail of
troops from the post at Austin, and Major Ensign, with 226 men
of the Ninth Iowa Cavalry, was
assigned to that duty. The detachment proceeded with the command
of General Mower to the
crossing of White River and, from that point, returned with the
long train of unloaded wagons to
Brownsville Station. The return march over the mountain roads
was difficult and dangerous, but,
by
making long and rapid marches, the railroad was reached on September 25th,
without losing
any
of the wagons and without any casualties in the command. In the meantime the
brigade had
been moved to Brownsville, from which point all supplies were
received and forwarded.
Quarters for the men and stables for the horses were
constructed, much of the material for that
purpose being obtained by the tearing down of abandoned houses
and public buildings.
Comfortable winter quarters were thus secured for the soldiers
and their horses, but, as will be
seen from the operations that were carried on during the winter,
comparatively few of the men
remained to occupy these quarters.
On
October 30th, a forage train, guarded by a detachment from the Ninth Iowa, was
attacked
by
a force of rebels, and two teamsters were mortally wounded and four captured.
Those who
escaped brought the news to camp, and a detachment from the
regiment was immediately sent to
the
place where the attack was made. In the meantime, however, a detachment from the
Eleventh
Missouri, returning from a scout, had heard the firing and
hastened to the rescue. The rebels were
forced to abandon most of their plunder. The detachment from the
Ninth Iowa did not reach the
scene of conflict until the rebels were in full retreat, and, as
night had fallen, could accomplish
nothing beyond returning to camp with the wounded men and
rescued property. At daylight
Major Ensign, in command of a detachment from his regiment, went
in pursuit of the rebels, but
did
not succeed in overtaking them.
Early in November fragments of the rebel General Price's
defeated and demoralized army
were retreating toward the mountains, and that portion of the
Ninth Iowa, and the other cavalry
troops then at Brownsville, started in pursuit on November 4th.
The line of march was through
Peach Orchard Gap, El Paso and Springfield, and on to Norristown
and Dardanelle. On
November 16th, Major Drummond, with three hundred men of his
regiment, scouted the country
south of the river. Major Drummond's detachment and others,
moving in different directions,

8

encountered straggling parties of Price's retreating army and
captured many of them, without any
serious engagements. The troops which had been engaged in the
pursuit returned to Brownsville,
reaching that place on the night of November 18th. A few days
previous to the starting of this
last expedition Lieutenant Colonel John P. Knight, of the Ninth
Iowa, with five hundred men of
the
brigade, had commenced a march to Fort Smith, escorting thither Major General F.
J. Herron.
Their route lay near the line of march of General Price's
retreating rebel army, with portions of
which Lieutenant Colonel Knight's detachment had several
skirmishes, in one of which a rebel
officer was killed and a number of his men captured, together
with one hundred and thirty head
of
cattle which they were driving. Lieutenant Colonel Knight returned with his
detachment to
Brownsville on the 26th of November, having marched over five
hundred miles. General Herron
subsequently wrote a letter in which he acknowledged the very
efficient service of the
detachment and its commander.
During the remainder of November, Major Drummond, with two
hundred men of the
regiment and a part of the Eighth Missouri, performed very
important service in guarding some
government transports which had grounded at low water in the
Arkansas River above Lewisburg.
The
Major remained upon this duty, and scouting in the surrounding country with
portions of his
detachment, until the close of December, when, with the rise in
the river, the transports were
enabled to proceed upon their course, and the troops rejoined
the brigade at Brownsville On
December 6th, Lieutenant Harmon of Company E, being in command
of fifty men of the
regiment, encountered a superior force of the rebel leader
Rayburn's troops near Brownsville.
Lieutenant Harmon's detachment had two men wounded and several
horses killed. The rebels
sustained a much heavier loss.
Early in January, 1866. about 1,000 men of the brigade, under
command of Colonel Geiger,
began a march through the region of country lying between
Brownsville and Memphis, Tenn.,
for
the purpose of dispersing such forces of the enemy as might still be found
infesting that
section of the country and destroying their means of
subsistence. The portion of the Ninth Iowa
Cavalry which accompanied the expedition was commanded by
Lieutenant Colonel Knight. The
men
and officers endured great hardship and suffering upon this march. During the
previous
month very heavy rains had fallen and the roads were in many
places under water. The rains
continued during the greater portion of the march. Major Ensign
says: "On one day we only
made six miles and, when that night we reached a point between
the Little Red and White
Rivers, could not find enough dry land for a camping place.
Passing the night there, and by dint
of
hand work keeping the animals and wagons from miring down in the mud and water,
and
throwing away tents and other camp equipage to lighten the
train, we resumed the march the next
morning in the midst of a snow storm. Thus, fighting the
elements, we arrived at Augusta
January 11th, having been ferried over White River by the
steamer Belle Peoria." The weather
cleared somewhat, the march was resumed, and the object of the
expedition successfully
accomplished. Detachments from the command were sent out in
different directions, small
bodies of the enemy were encountered and dispersed, and quite a
number of rebels were
captured, together with many horses and mules. The command
reached Brownsville on January
28th. On the day before, with a small detachment, Major Ensign
had marched from Searcy to
Brownsville, in advance of the main command, and, when near
Austin, had captured two noted
bushwhackers, with their horses, arms and equipments; the Major
and Adjutant Wayne had
rendered valuable assistance to Lieutenant Colonel Knight during
this long and, in some
respects, most memorable March 1n which any portion of the
regiment had been engaged.
During the remainder of the winter of 1865 there was the usual
amount of scouting, but no
incident of special importance occurred, except the daring
attempt of Major Ensign and a small
detachment of the Ninth Iowa to secure the capture of the
notorious guerrilla chief, Rayburn.

9

This man had given incessant annoyance to the Union troops, and
General Steele had offered a
large reward for his death or capture. A few soldiers from the
Union army, who had been guilty
of
committing acts of pillage in the neighboring country, for which they had
subjected
themselves to severe punishment, and which they knew would be
received when their crimes
were discovered, gave themselves over to a course of complete
outlawry, by deserting and
joining the band of the guerrilla leader. The capture of these
deserters was a matter of equal
importance to that of capturing Rayburn and his band. Major
Ensign led his detachment through
devious paths of the woods and mountains, marching mostly at
night, until they reached the
neighborhood of Rayburn's camp, without discovery. Concealing
themselves in ambush near a
bridge, they kept a close watch for the approach of the rebels
On the night of April 2d, they
succeeded in quietly capturing a couple of prisoners, and, from
them, learned that Rayburn had
himself made prisoners of the deserters, not daring to trust
them as members of his band, and had
sent word to General Steele that he would return them to him, if
he could be allowed the
necessary facilities for doing so, without taking too great risk
of the capture of himself or his
band of followers. The Major also learned that Rayburn had left
his camp and retreated still
farther into the mountains, and that any further effort to
secure his capture at that time would
prove futile, for the reason that he felt assured that the
rebels had become apprised of his
approach. It then became a matter of concern to avoid being
ambushed on the return march, By
celerity of movement and another all night march the detachment
reached Brownsville, after an
absence of eight days and nights The subsequent fate of the
guerrilla chief and his followers and
that of the deserters is not revealed by the record.
The
news of the fall of Richmond and the surrender of Lee's army reached the camp
at
Brownsville on April 11, 1866, and was fully confirmed the next
day, causing great rejoicing.
Then came the news of the assassination of President Lincoln.
The soldiers were at first almost
wild in their indignation and desire for vengeance, and it
required the exercise of the strongest
military discipline to prevent an attack upon the military
prison at Little Rock, where rebel
prisoners were confined, it having been reported that some of
them had expressed satisfaction
upon hearing of the death of that great and good man.
The
remainder of the history of the operations of the Ninth Iowa Cavalry is soon
told. While
the
war was practically over, the conditions in those states which had been most
active in the
rebellion against the government was such as to render military
occupation necessary for a
considerable length of time. In those states the functions of
civil government had been almost
completely paralyzed during the progress of the war, and the
lawless element in every
community could only be restrained by the presence of Federal
troops. There was, perhaps, no
section of the South where lawlessness and disregard for human
life was more prevalent than in
the
mountainous regions of Arkansas, where roving bands of outlaws were still
numerous. While
it
was obvious that a sufficient number of troops would have to be retained in the
service to assist
the
state and local authorities in regaining control, the volunteer soldiers felt
that their duties
should have ended with the putting down of the rebellion against
the general government, Both
officers and men felt that it was the duty of the government to
increase the strength of the
Regular Army, so that they might be relieved and allowed to
return to their homes. While they
were given the assurance that this would be clone as soon as
possible, the men were impatient,
and
a spirit of insubordination was manifested on the part of some of them. Quite a
number of
desertions had occurred. The necessity for the strictest
enforcement of discipline became
apparent, and the officers and the better element among the
enlisted men asserted themselves so
effectually that the former good discipline was soon restored.
This feeling of discontent was not
more prominent in the Ninth Iowa Cavalry than in any of the
other regiments from Iowa. It was
quite general at that time, but never reached a critical stage.
The men soon came to appreciate the

10

necessity of the situation, and settled into a feeling of
patient waiting for the time when their
services would be no longer required and they would be honorably
discharged.
On
June 11th, the regiment marched from Brownsville to Lewisburg. About one-half
the
companies were sent to garrison different posts, while the other
half were retained at Lewisburg.
Colonel Trumbull, who had been promoted to Brevet Brigadier
General, was in command of the
post, and Lieutenant Colonel Knight succeeded to the command of
the regiment. Major Wayne,
who
had been promoted from Adjutant, was on detached duty at Dardanelle, and Major
Ensign
had
been assigned to duty as Acting Assistant Inspector General, at Little Rock.
Subsequently
General Trumbull was assigned to the command of the more
important post at Fort Smith, and a
general change was made in the assignments of the captains and
their companies to different
stations. In September, Major Ensign, acting under instructions
from the Department
Commander, visited the southeastern counties of Arkansas, to
ascertain the progress made
towards the reorganization of civil government, and to see if it
were necessary for the military to
afford the civil authorities additional facilities to aid in the
performance of their duties. Returning
from the trip on the 2d of October, he submitted his official
report, after which he tendered his
resignation, which was accepted on October 22d, and he was
honorably discharged from the
service. Major Drummond had resigned in June and received an
honorable discharge. These
officers were both held in the highest esteem by their brother
officers and by the men of the
regiment, and much regret was shown when they took their
departure. Lieutenant Cheney,
Quartermaster, and Lieutenant Tilford Commissary, of the
regiment, are mentioned in the record
for
the very efficient manner in which they performed their duty, in procuring the
necessary
supplies for the command, sometimes under very difficult
circumstances. The surgeons and
company officers are also generally commended for the faithful
and efficient discharge of their
duties. There were numerous changes in the field and staff and
in the company organizations
during the term of service of the regiment, all of which will be
found noted in the subjoined
roster.
In
January, 1866, a detachment of the regiment was sent through the Indian
Territory to
Texas, for the purpose of guarding a train of government wagons,
loaded with supplies for the
troops retained on duty in that state. The detachment was absent
several weeks on this duty.
During the remainder of their service, the different companies
of the regiment rendered
important service at their respective stations, in sustaining
the officers of the civil government,
both Federal and State, in the enforcement of law and order.
They succeeded in hunting down,
killing and capturing nearly all the outlaws and desperadoes who
had infested the country and,
when the time came for their departure, the conditions were so
greatly improved that life and
property were probably as well protected as before the
commencement of the war.
On
February 16, 1866, Brevet Major General H. J. Hunt, in command of the Frontier
District,
Department of Arkansas, issued from his headquarters at Fort
Smith an order directing the relief
from duty of the Ninth Iowa Cavalry, by the Third United States
Cavalry, after which the
regiment was ordered to proceed to Little Rock, Ark., to be
mustered out of service. The
following commendatory paragraph is quoted from the order:
The
General commanding takes this occasion to convey to Brevet Brigadier General
Trumbull, and the officers and men of his regiment, his
appreciation of the good service they
have rendered while under his command, and the excellence of
their discipline, which was
frequently elicited the commendations of the citizens of the
district. To the commanders of
detached posts, Captains Reed, at Clarksville, Flick, at
Fayetteville, and Lambert (specially) at
Van
Buren, his thanks are due for the manner in which they performed their
duties—where they
often had to act upon their own judgment.

11

General Trumbull, who was still on duty as Post Commander at
Fort Smith, when his
regiment was ordered to assemble at Little Rock to be mustered
out, sent a farewell letter, which
was
read to the regiment on parade. The letter is here quoted as follows:
HEADQUARTERS NINTH IOWA CAVALRY VOLUNTEERS, FORT SMITH. ARK.,
FEB
19,
1866.
TO
THE OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF THE NINTH IOWA CAVALRY:
Gentlemen: We are about to separate. Our work is done. The flag
of the Republic waves
triumphantly over all her ancient domain. In the great struggle
which has passed, you have done
well, and you leave the service carrying with you a noble
tribute of approbation from the Major
General commanding the district, one of the greatest soldiers of
the country. The hardships and
dangers you have undergone have been great, and many of our
comrades have sunk by the
wayside. The discipline has been severe but it was necessary to
make soldiers of you. In the new
positions you are to assume, preserve your soldiers' name
untainted, and, should the President of
the
United States again order the long roll beaten. I trust we shall all be ready to
fall in.
May
prosperity and happiness attend you all. Comrades, I bid you farewell.
M.
M. TRUMBULL, Colonel
Ninth Iowa Cavalry Volunteers and Brevet Brigadier General U. S.
V.
The
companies of the regiment were all mustered out of the service of the United
States at
the
city of Little Rock, Ark., but upon different dates. Companies E. F. G. H. K. L
and M weremustered
out
on February 3, 1866; the field and staff officers and Companies A. C and D
weremustered
out
February 28, 1866; Company I was mustered out March 15, 1866; and Company B
was
mustered out March 23, 1866. All officers and enlisted men, not otherwise
accounted for,
were mustered out as with their respective organizations. It
will thus be seen that a period of
nearly two years and four months had elapsed between the muster
in of the regiment and the
muster out of its last company. During its service in the South
the regiment marched over 2,000
miles, was conveyed by steamboat and rail 1700 miles, and the
marches of its various
detachments approximated 8,000 miles. The casualties sustained
by the regiment—killed in
action, died from the effects of wounds and from disease,
discharged for disability incurred from
wounds or sickness, including transfers—number 309 Enlisted men
and officers.
The
survivors of the Ninth Iowa Cavalry may well be proud of the record made by
their
regiment. While the field to which its operations were confined
was not the scene of any of the
great battles of the war, in which so many of the regiments from
Iowa participated with
distinguished honor to themselves and their State, yet the Ninth
Cavalry faithfully performed all
the
duties to which it was assigned. Its officers and men had bravely met and fought
the enemy
in
minor engagements, and they would have gladly welcomed an order—for which they
waited
in
vain—to participate in the great battles which marked the closing campaigns of
the war. The
regiment is, therefore, justly entitled to as honorable a place
in the military history of its State as
that of any of the long line of Iowa regiments which went forth
at the call of the President of the
United States and contributed so largely to the salvation and
perpetuation of the best government
ever instituted among men.
5
The record from which the last quotations are made can be found on page 563.
Report of
Adjutant General of Iowa, 1867, Vol. 2.
6
Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1867, Vol. 1, page 46.

12

SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES
Total Enrollment .............................1353
Killed
.............................................................9
Wounded
......................................................15
Died of wounds ........................................10
Died of disease ......................................165
Discharged for wounds, disease or other causes...89
Buried in National Cemeteries ........100
Captured
......................................................10
Transferred
................................................11
NINTH REGIMENT IOWA VOLUNTEER CAVALRY
Term of service three years.
Mustered into the service of the United States at Davenport,
Iowa, November 30, 1863, by
Lieutenant Colonel William N. Grier, United States Army.
Mustered out of service on dates ranging from February 3, to
March 23, 1866, at Little Rock,
Ark. (See Historical sketch.)
Roster of Field, Commissioned and Non-Commissioned Staff
Officers at muster in of
organization, together with subsequent appointments from civil
life.
FIELD AND STAFF.
Mathew M. Trumbull. Age 38. Residence Cedar Falls,
nativity England. Appointed Colonel
Sept. 26, 1863. Mustered Nov. 30, 1863. Promoted Brevet
Brigadier General. Mustered out Feb.
28,
1866, Little Rock, Ark. See Company I, Third Infantry.
John P. Knight. Age 43. Residence Mitchell, nativity
Vermont. Appointed Lieutenant Colonel
Nov. 6, 1863. Mustered Nov. 30, 1863. Mustered out March 31,
1866, Davenport, Iowa. See
Company I, Third Infantry.
Edgar T. Ensign. Age 24. Residence Des Moines, nativity
New York. Appointed First Battalion
Major Oct. 25, 1863. Mustered Nov. 30, 1863. Promoted Brevet
Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel
March 13, 1865. Resigned Oct. 27, 1865. See Company D, Second
Infantry.
Willis Drummond. Age 37. Residence McGregor, nativity
Missouri. Appointed Second
Battalion Major Nov. 1, 1863. Mustered Nov. 30, 1863. Resigned
June 2, 1865, Little Rock, Ark.
William Haddock. Age 41. Residence Waterloo, nativity New
York. Appointed Third Battalion
Major, Nov. 3, 1863. Mustered Nov. 30, 1863. Resigned Sept. 13,
1864. See Field and Staff,
Eighth Cavalry; see also Company E, Twelfth Infantry.